DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)
If any of us have not yet been forgiven, Father, please forgive them. May great love convict them of their sins and lead them to the sin-atoning blood. This very day, may many sinners be released from the burden of their sins at the tomb of Christ. Oh, may pardons be freely distributed! You are the Father of pardons. “who is like you, passing by iniquity, transgression, and sin, and not remembering the iniquity of the remnant of your people?” Glory be to your name!
Amen.
VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)
“He broke their spirits with hard labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.” (Psalm 107:12)
When a soul finds all its efforts at self-salvation prove useless, and feels that it is now utterly without strength, then the Lord is at work hiding pride from man and preparing the afflicted one to receive his mercy. The spiritual case which is here figuratively described is desperate, and therefore affords the finer field for the divine interposition; some of us remember well how brightly mercy shone in our prison, and what music the fetters made when they fell off from our hands. Nothing but the Lord’s love could have delivered us; without it we must have utterly perished.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
What does it mean to take up your cross and follow Jesus?
Christ calls his people to an amazing, grace-fueled life of self-denial. It’s an exciting life, but what does it actually look like to lay down your life and take up your cross?
A great and short book on this topic is A Little Book on the Christian Life by John Calvin. It describes, in a beautifully biblical way, Christ’s call to deny yourself. This book is a stunning invitation to lay down your life in order to start really living.
A warning: If you grab a copy of this book today, get ready. This book is not for the faint of heart. It will expose sin and challenge you to live righteously. It is a challenging read (in the best way), but it is full of treasure!